Cloud Computing

Unlock New Potentialities with Cisco Modeling Labs 2.9

julho 23, 2025
techhdesign


Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) has lengthy been the go-to platform for community engineers, college students, and builders to design, simulate, and take a look at community topologies in a digital atmosphere. With the discharge of Cisco Modeling Labs model 2.9, we’re excited to introduce some new options that improve its capabilities, providing flexibility, scalability, and ease of use.

Containers: A game-changer for community simulation

One of the compelling new options in CML 2.9 is the flexibility to combine Docker containers. Beforehand, CML was restricted to digital machines (VMs), resembling IOS-XE and Catalyst 9000. Now you’ll be able to add light-weight, optimized node varieties that eat fewer sources, so you’ll be able to construct bigger and extra numerous labs.

CML 2.9 ships with 10 pre-built container photographs, together with:

  • Browsers: Chrome and Firefox for in-lab internet entry.
  • Routing: Free-Vary Routing (FRR), a light-weight, open-source routing machine supporting OSPF and different protocols.
  • Community Companies: Dnsmasq, Syslog, Netflow, Nginx, Radius, and TACACS+ for important community capabilities.
  • Utilities: Web-tools (filled with 20+ community instruments like T-shark and Nmap) and a ThousandEyes agent for monitoring.

This opens up an entire new world of prospects, permitting you to simulate complicated situations with specialised instruments and providers instantly inside your CML topology. As a result of containers are light-weight and resource-efficient, you’ll be able to run extra providers with out a heavy influence on system efficiency. Plus, you have got the pliability to create and combine your personal customized container photographs from DockerHub or different sources.

Containers in CML combine seamlessly with VM nodes, permitting you to attach them inside the identical community topology and allow full bidirectional communication. As a result of containers use considerably much less CPU, reminiscence, and disk than VMs, they begin quicker and allow you to run extra nodes on the identical {hardware}. For big CML labs, use containers and clustering for optimum efficiency. Containers are light-weight, making it doable to scale labs effectively by working providers or routing capabilities that don’t require a full VM.

How can I share labs with different customers? 

For groups and academic environments, CML 2.9 introduces a extra fine-grained permission system. As a lab proprietor or system admin, now you can share labs with different customers, giving collaborators entry to work on shared initiatives or studying actions. This function enables you to transfer past the fundamental learn/write entry obtainable in earlier variations. The brand new permission ranges embrace:

  • View: Permits customers to see the lab however prevents any state adjustments or edits
  • Exec: Grants permission to view and work together with the lab; for example, you can begin and cease nodes
  • Edit: Permits customers to switch the lab, resembling shifting, including, or deleting nodes and altering configurations
  • Admin: Provides you full entry to the lab, in addition to lets you share the lab with different customers

This enhanced management streamlines collaboration, making certain customers have precisely the proper stage of entry for his or her duties.

→ See product documentation for particulars on setup and use.

How does node disk picture cloning work?

Bored with repeatedly configuring customized nodes on your labs? Node disk picture cloning in CML 2.9 resolves this situation. When you’ve personalized a node’s configuration or made particular edits, now you can clone that node’s disk picture and reserve it as a brand new picture kind. This implies quicker lab setup for steadily used units and configurations, saving you beneficial time.

Node disk picture cloning is superb for saving time in lab setup once you’ve modified a node, resembling Ubuntu, so as to add extra instruments and need to create a brand new node kind that has those self same instruments put in.

How do I handle labs utilizing the exterior labs repository and Git integration?

CML 2.9 introduces Git integration, permitting you to instantly tie your CML occasion to an exterior Git repository. This function adjustments the way you entry and handle pattern labs. As an alternative of manually downloading and importing particular person lab recordsdata, now you can present a repository URL, and CML will sync the content material, making it obtainable underneath the Pattern Labs menu.

Cisco supplies a set of pattern labs on the CML Group GitHub on the Cisco DevNet web site, together with certification-aligned labs (resembling CCNA), which could be imported with a single click on.

This function additionally lets you add Git repositories (resembling GitLab and Bitbucket), empowering you to handle your personal lab content material seamlessly.

CML helps any Git-based repo, however authentication for personal repos just isn’t supported. We’ve added some CCNA labs, and we’re working to combine extra superior certification content material, resembling CCNP, into the pattern labs repositories. Offline customers will get a pre-synced snapshot at set up.

 What are different new CML 2.9 enhancements?

Past the numerous new options, CML 2.9 consists of these enhancements:

  • Elevated scalability: The restrict of concurrently working nodes has risen from 320 to 520.
  • Net framework alternative (FastAPI): The product now makes use of FastAPI as its new API internet framework, leading to improved supportability, quicker API efficiency, enhanced documentation, and improved validation.
  • API help for bulk operations: Simplify your automation efforts with new API capabilities that permit for bulk operations, resembling fence-selecting and deleting teams of nodes with a single API name.
  • Allow all node definitions by default: This quality-of-life enchancment lets you import all labs by default, no matter whether or not a specific node and picture definition can be found in your system.
  • Customized font for terminal home windows: Now you can configure customized fonts on your console terminal home windows to match your most well-liked CLI expertise.
  • IP tackle visibility: Now you can view the assigned IP addresses for interfaces related to an exterior NAT connector.

Discover the facility of CML 2.9

CML 2.9 underscores our dedication to delivering a state-of-the-art community simulation platform. As we increase its capabilities and discover additional container orchestration, superior lab automation, and new API developments, we encourage our group to contribute to the rising library of pattern labs on our DevNet GitHub repository. And we’re working to make including new node varieties even simpler sooner or later.

Able to discover the facility of CML 2.9? Obtain it now to check out these new options as we speak.

Go away a remark under and tell us what you suppose!

 

Join Cisco U. | Be part of the  Cisco Modeling Labs Group on the Cisco Studying Community.

Study with Cisco

X | Threads | Fb | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

Use  #CiscoU and #CiscoCert to affix the dialog.

Share: